The Importance of Humane Execution

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When you were trying to recruit those to help with the execution, some people said they couldn't handle it. "The well being of my staff actually loomed larger in getting this execution process together," he says. His destiny was set by law. He was going to be executed in my job to be sure that he was executed as humanely and as painlessly as possible.

Not long into his job as prison superintendent, Frank Thompson was asked to write the manual on lethal injection for the state of Oregon. Capital punishment had not been implemented in more than 30 years, and no one knew how to do it. Frank had to travel around the country learning how other states do it, and he asked his staff to practice. They simulated every step, including seating witnesses in the gallery, interacting with the press, and strapping each other to the gurney.

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